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Kanis
A Wolf-Blooded Shifter, originally hailing from Thaedia, Deimos spent his early life working as a labourer in a vineyard, tilling the rich volcanic soil, and harvesting grapes to be made into wine for the realms social elite. When he was still a lad, his parents saved enough money to send him to the Collegia of Music, where he trained as a Bard, and rubbed shoulders with people well above his station. First Moon - ' About the time of his sixteenth birthday, as his body navigated the treacherous waters of puberty - he underwent a change of a different kind. Under the light of the Blood Moon, Deimos transformed for the first time, unaware of his condition, and totally unprepared. Slaughtering his entire dorm, several teachers, and a few visiting minor dignitaries - Deimos awoke the next day, naked and alone in the woods, to find his life in tatters. Deimos never returned home, but heard that his parents had been lynched in fear that they too were monsters, and Deimos knew that he would never discover the true nature of his affliction. Nobody in his family had ever spoken of a genetic propensity to Lycanthropy, and if it had ever run in their blood before, they had hidden it well. Using the skills he had learned at the Collegia, Deimos began to travel - making his home in taverns, and around campfires, wherever there was a desire for music and merriment, never staying in the one place for long. Though he tried to minimize the damage caused by his condition, mistakes were made, and Deimos began to fall into a pit of despair for the lives he had taken. '''A Young Shifter ; Confinement, and Deimos meets a Fury Lord -' Keen to minimize the damage he might cause, Deimos fled into the woods one Moon, and in his transformed state, was set upon by a coven of witches. They berated him with their magic, bound him with their will, and chained him in their cavern dwelling to be used as a guard dog against intruders. The victim of a powerful ritual performed by these three hags, Deimos was prevented from shifting back to his human form when the Blood Moon passed, and remained locked in his beast form, subject to its rage, chained to their wall, fed on naught but the flesh of unwary travelers for more time than he cared to track. Then, one day, an warrior entered the lair - sword drawn and ready for a fight. The wily adventurer was fast, and managed to side-step his first attack, and in a single swing he sundered the chain that kept Deimos confined to the cave. Free at last, Deimos immediately forgot the Warrior, allowing the fury of his years of captivity to finally burst forth, and charged off to exact bloody revenge upon the witches who had dared to chain him. Once the hags were deceased, their magic began to wear off, and Deimos returned to his human form for the first time in what seemed like many years. Exhausted, he fell into a deep slumber. When he awoke, the adventurer had returned. He looked refreshed, and had brought Deimos some clothing, and a few necessities for survival in the woods, and on the road. The warrior told him his name was Gell. He knew full well what Deimos was, and yet he was unafraid. This was something the Shifter had not experienced, and decided to travel with Gell for a time. They had many adventures together, but parted ways shortly before the next Blood Moon. Gell told Deimos that he was headed to the Guardian Vale - for he had heard that there was honour and adventure to be had there for those willing to reach out and grab it. Deimos bid him farewell, and wandered alone for a time. 'Moving On; A Gift from the Narga - ' It was during this time that he was visited in his dreams one evening by a vision from Wallash - one of the nine Narga of Ruin. Wallash, the God of Concealment and Lies made a bargain with Deimos; allowing him to rest in blissful oblivion, unable to remember the Blood Moon nights, scrubbing from his memory all the names and faces of those that he had killed. In return, Deimos would use the talents that he had developed, along with the supernatural speed, strength and agility afforded to him by his Wolf blood, to serve as an Assassin of Walash in the Weft. Overjoyed by the gift he had been given, Deimos was pleased to serve, and sallied forth at once to the Blinded Boar Tavern, guitar in hand, and began to take the lay of the land. Drawn to the camp of Shadow, where he reunited with Gell, and met the Lady Gideon. Deimos offered his services, but remained wary and aloof - watching these servants of the Narga, and deciding whether or not to trust them. 'The Fortune Tellers Heart - ' Not long after his arrival, the Blood Moon arose, and Deimos discovered that he was not the only Shifter in the Weft. For the first time in his life, the Wolf ran with a pack - taking direction from another, one who he instinctively knew as an Alpha. Together they rained down such destruction upon the people around them as had never been seen by the light of a red moon before. A celestial alignment had seen the latent magical energies of the region burst forth in a storm of wild magic, saturating everything in a dangerous aura. It was during this time that Deimos was struck by some sort of poison by, and then consumed the heart of, a gypsy woman; a fortune teller, and his life was changed forever. Awaking the next morning, human once more, Deimos discovered that he had taken on some of the fortune tellers power - an ability to see not the future, but the past. Specifically, he had a clear and perfect memory of every face, every voice, every scream of every person he had ever killed. The guilt drove him to the point of insanity, and he railed against the universe, against Wallash - who he deemed had betrayed him, and against himself. It was then that the Lady Gideon came time him, comforted him, whispered words of love and encouragement, and gave to him a purpose in service to the Shadow. He quickly found that in the heat of battle, and in the aftermath of bloodshed, his internal voices would fade away for a time, and he threw himself into the blood-lust. Soon, there was little difference between Deimos, and the Wolf - both just as eager to shed the blood of an enemy, or innocent alike. Like an addict, living from one hit to the next, Deimos life became an emotional roller coaster - with the highest point being a simple time of quiet, and the lowest being the deepest pits of his own personal hell. 'Deimos Swears Allegiance to Shadow; The Birth of Kanis - ' One night, after the blood lust had taken him, and he had time to take a moments introspection - Deimos realized what he must do. He returned to camp, and on the following morning, he swore his heart and soul in service to Gideon, and in a grand gesture of loyalty - plunged a dagger into his own heart, killing himself in the hope and trust that the Dark Lady would restore him to life and service. As he died, Deimos entered into a vision of his own subconscious, fighting the ghosts of his memory. His human self was weak, and collapsed under the weight of conscience, and in this moment of defeat - the beast within, the Wolf - which goes by the name "Kanis" broke free - casting aside his human form and taking over the dominant role of Deimos personality. When he awoke, Deimos was gone, and only Kanis remained, staring out from behind the eyes that had once belonged to a lost and lonely, weak and pathetic man. 'Deimos Serves Shadow -' In the days that followed what he now thought of as his "ascension", Deimos took part in a tourney held in the vale - his newfound faith and animal instinct leading him to victory for Shadow and Wallash in the "Steel Rose Melee". Deimos was integral in the ritual performed by Duran Greyhand, which opened a Lokus in the Vale, draining all magical power over the course of several weeks. Deimos considered it one of his happiest achievements, for his experiences with Witches as a younger man left him with a deep fear, and loathing of arcane magic. Deimos continued to serve Shadow, and reveled in watching the magi of the realm flounder without their hated magical abilities. 'An Unexpected Turn - ' During Deimos' second Blood Moon in the Weft, he found himself falling into a leadership role within the pack, as the current Alpha began to acknowledge his ferocity, his tactical mind-set, and his brute strength. After being set upon by a combined army of several Weftril factions, the Pack lost much of the horde they had gathered in their earlier raids on supply caravans and the like, and decided to take revenge upon the people of Tavern Town. With Jo'v away on business, the magical wards that would normally have prevented their entry failed, and Deimos led the pack on an all out assault of the town. It was during this fight that Deimos and Blaez came face to face with the Lady Gideon. Something in Deimos snapped, and just as he had overcome the magical barriers of the town, he also overcame the mental barriers that normally prevent him from attacking Gideon. In the titanic clash that followed, Deimos tore Gideon's throat out, and left her to bleed out on the battlefield. 'A Lifetime of Regret - ' Gideon was weakened, but not defeated. Forced to abandon her mortal vessel and take on another form, Gideon returned to Deimos - disappointed, but forgiving. Deimos, however, was not so quick to forgive, and underwent a period of self-imposed exile from Shadow Camp, until Gideon herself approached him, and demanded he return to her service personally. Deimos revealed to Gideon his secret duplicity - that he had been Kanis for some time now, and that Deimos, his human psyche, had been locked away since his formal swearing to Shadow. He had found that while the Blood Moon was high, his mind was in enough turmoil as the lunacy took him that Deimos had been able to exert a level of control over his actions, causing him to attack Gideon - whom he hated passionately, blaming her for his current predicament, trapped inside his own mind. 'Deimos; Slayer of Monsters - ' It transpired that the Smiling Dragons had somehow managed to gain control of a Kobold, and were aiming to make some geld by offering both it, and a pot of monies up to any who could defeat it in three on one combat. After several attempts had been made, Deimos, along with Gell, and a new member of Shadow known only as "Nameless" managed to take the beast down. After removing the heart of the beast to assist Drazoath in binding a draconic relic to himself, Duran Greyhand resurrected the creature, and a spell of Binding was cast upon it so that it would serve Shadow in battle. This worked well, until later in the day when the creature was wounded, and then turned upon even those who it had been serving - mauling and injuring several of Deimos friends and comrades before his eyes. Stepping up to the challenge, Deimos struck down the creature just as he had in the arena - only this time he made sure it was dead; twisting his blade in its chest, and lopping its head clean from its shoulders where it lay. 'A Curse, or a Blessing? - ' Though reveling in his victories, Deimos is haunted by strange signs. Birds calling his name, odd visions, and is finally visited in a dream by the ghost of what appears to be Gideon as she was the day that Deimos killed her. The dream Gideon tears Deimos eyes from his head, and when he awakes - he finds that he is blind. Realising that he has strayed from his original path, Deimos steps out in faith - trusting that Whalash will guide his hand, and his feet, and leaves the Vale, wandering blind for a time. 'Returning to the Vale - ' Though still blind, Deimos has learned to cope with his condition, and learns to trust in his deific patron. He returns to fight for Gideon, reminding himself that she too serves higher powers, and it is not Gideon herself that he truly serves. He also trains under some of the Master Assassins within Shadow, and re-focuses his attention on his original path. Making up for lost time, Deimos fights like a wild animal as Shadow is beset on all sides. Despite heavy losses, and several defeats - Shadows warriors manage to destroy the cursed tree that the Camp of Light had attempted to plant in the Sneak Woods, and Deimos comes into possession of an ancient artifact; a skull. The skull speaks to Deimos, promising him riches if he will but keep it out of the hands of those who would try to destroy it. The skull spoke the truth, leading Deimos away from the Vale, where he was able to claim a small fortune, along with a book on Spellcraft that once belonged to a powerful necromancer named Churleon Gulch. Deimos began to study the book, and realised its potential to aid him in his fight against the powers of magic in the Weft, and he is taking steps to learn "spells" that combat magic. Churleon Gulch, however, was indeed the voice in the skull that Deimos had found, and it was his last link to the physical realm. Realizing the power latent in Deimos veins, Churleon chose to abandon the skull, and took up residence in Deimos head - adding a third personality to his already crowded head-space, and a malignant one at that. With Deimos' newly acquired advanced assassination techniques, his newfound anti-magic abilities, and the power that flows through him from the spirit of Churleon Gulch - Deimos is coming to know power the like of which he has never experienced... and the Blood Moon is rising once more... 'The Death of Humanity - ' In the lead up to the Blood Moon, the Lady Gideon spends some time conversing with Deimos, aware of the nefarious presence within his mind. She speaks directly to Churleon, confronting him as to his intentions, but curious to see where his powers and plans might lead them. She discovered during this time that Churleon had been hard at work in Deimos' subconscious, mining into his memories, and constructing a fortress for himself within the Shifter's mind - making it impossible to remove Churleon without destroying Deimos. When the red moon rose, and the Valkyie of Lokus was unleashed upon the Guardian Vale, Churleon took full possession of Deimos' body - resulting in a never-before-seen speaking and spell-casting Were Wolf. Avner of the Tavern Guard had been hard at work, preparing for the Blood Moon - stockpiling Beast Bane, and many had geared up with silver weapons to combat the Shifter menace. Fast losing members of his pack, Churleon approached the Avatar of Lokus, striking a deal to work together - in return for control of the Guardian Vale once their forces were victorious. Unfortunately, Churleon was capture by the members of Shadow Camp, along with Tyberos, and forced under mind-controlling compulsion to destroy the hooded monk who had been acting as an anchor for the Valkyrie. Having obtained the skull of Churleon Gulch, and having been betrayed by the necromancer in favour of the Valkyrie, Gideon threw caution to the wind, and ripped Churleon from Deimos mind; tearing down his psychic fortress - a fortress composed of Deimos memories, and trapping him in the skull once more. With all the memories of his human self destroyed, Deimos was in essence destroyed. Only Kanis remained. Although Kanis had been the dominant personality in Deimos mind for some time, his ongoing pretense of humanity had been derived entirely by drawing on the information accessible to him within Deimos own memories. Kanis only memories were those of the Blood Moon, and suddenly - Kanis, the wolf whose entire life had been spent hunting and killing lesser creatures, who had risen to the position of Alpha within the Shifter pack, found himself trapped in a human body. Angry and confused, Kanis disappeared into the woods surrounding the Guardian Vale. '''A Rude Awakening Deimos' had been blinded by Whalash for his lack of conviction, but Kanis was a different creature entirely, and Whalash' curse was no longer upon him - for Kanis had never promised anything to the Narga. Still, Kanis was blind in his wanderings. Taking clothing,food, and weaponry from those that he came across in his travels, Kanis began to stock pile food and supplies, creating a comfortable den for himself. Here he was approached by Althear, along with Wolf, and several other members of the Camp of Shadow. Recognizing none of his former comrades, Kanis attacked Althear - who chose to fight him in single combat while the rest of Shadow's forces stood back and watched. Unsure of his new body, and the use of "weaponry" aside from his claws, Kanis was defeated, and Althear used his newly acquired ability of "Binding" to bring the creature under control. Having beaten him in single combat, Kanis acknowledged Althear as the new pack Alpha, and swore to follow, protect, and obey this man - though he could not understand a word that any of them said, as it had been Deimos who learned to speak language, not Kanis. Over the course of the following weeks and months, Maia plied her trade as a seeress and psychic, entering Kanis subconscious mind, implanting thoughts, teaching him to speak, erecting psychic barriers to bring the creature under greater control - for he had already been found to be prone to outbursts of violent rage that even those in the Camp of Shadow could not contain, nor condone. Althear continued to maintain his Binding upon Kanis to assist in controlling him through the process. After more than a month, and numerous sessions with Maia, Gideon entered. The Voice of Ruin and Maia entered Kanis' subconscious at the same time - a psychic conflagration that would have killed or driven most people insane, but Kanis was no stranger to having multiple personalities occupying his head-space. After a brutal psychic battle, Gideon threw down the threshold guardians erected by Kanis psyche, while Maia managed to destroy the allegory of Kanis' recent memory before her mental avatar was torn apart by the wolves of Kanis' subconscious - essentially resetting him as a blank slate for the Lady Gideon to write upon as she pleased. Locating Kanis' earliest memories, Gideon found Kanis' youthful innocence and befriended the pup, incepting herself within Kanis' mind as his oldest friend, his mentor, and his most faithful protector. A Return to Form - ''' Kanis served Gideon and Althear well. He fought hard for the forces of Shadow, and began in earnest to accept, and to train his human body to be the best it could be - though he was constantly disappointed at its failings. Learning from Althear as Alpha, Kanis trained in the use of sword and shield - though he came to prefer the sheer brutality of the axe. Abandoning the pursuit of Magic, and forgoing the use of ranged weapons in favour of front-line combat, Kanis took on the aspect of the warrior, beating his body into submission, and reveling in the joy of combat. Training in the ways of Alchemy under Duran, Kanis also learned to brew substances from natural elements that could heal, harm, or hinder. New recruits began to flood into Shadow, and Gideon announce that she would be demanding oaths of fealty from new and old hands of Shadow alike. Kanis was saddened, for he loved the Lady Gideon, or at least, he believed he did - she was his oldest friend, and yet he clearly remembered the first time he met her - only a few month ago. The conflicting memories confused Kanis, but Gideon assured him that everything was alright, everything is fine. Her voice was soothing, and he put his worries aside. Kanis new that he could not serve Gideon, and be subjected to Althear as Alpha - for an allegiance divided is no allegiance at all. There was only one answer - he would have to reclaim control of his destiny. Kanis challenged Althear to a duel, and the pair of them fought long and hard - but this time, Kanis emerged the victor. Tasting the sweetness of freedom from oppressive obligation once more, Kanis immediately challenged the Lady Gideon - for he could not serve one who could not beat him in combat. She accepted, and with a wave of her hand the ruinous powers struck Kanis to the ground, nearly killing him where he stood. The hand the struck him down it seems, can also heal, and the Lady brought him back from near death once more. Having witnessed the power of the Darkness, Kanis freely swore himself to serve the Lady Gideon until death. Kanis knows nothing of, nor cares anything for the Narga - but freely serves the Lady Gideon... or perhaps not so freely. '''Let 'The Games Begin - ' After a time away, Jo'ov the Taverner returned, and declared that there would be a carnival - with Troll Ball and a Grand Melee Battle Royale. Putting up prize money of 100 geld for the victors of each, Gideon ordered all of Shadow's most capable fighters to enter. Kanis obeyed, and over the course of the day, The Heralds of the Narga with Kanis as their runner emerged victorious in the Troll Ball competition. At the end of the Battle Royale, Kanis was the last man standing tall, striding over the bodies of the most capable fighters in the Vale. In the final match, Kanis had stared down Lucius - the High Priest of Lianda. Seeking to make an example, and to prove to all those present what he was capable of, Kanis ingested a "Shifters Lament" poison - the rarest of substances, capable of forcing a Shifter into their Blood Moon form, regardless of the presence of the red moon. Revealing himself as a Shifter for all to see, Kanis tore Lucius apart, then leaped into the crowd of onlookers - maiming several bystanders before being subdued. Despite this, he had been the last man standing, and in accordance with the rules of the Tourney, he was crowned the victor. Kanis Tier 2 Warrior, Tier 1 Assassin 5 HP base, Sneak Attack, Forearm Invulnerability Dual Scabbard, Vampire Gauntlets (Drain Life), Alchemy Kit, Cloak of Protection (+1 HP) Commonly equipped with Medium Armour (+2 HP), Primarily fights with a Shield and Axe, though he is capable with a Bow, and dual wielding weapons. Has a total of 8 hit points between base, armour and items. Wolf Form Tier 4 Bad-Ass (Not an actual thing) 10 HP base (Double Standard), Maul Attack. Claws and Jaws. Medium Armour (+2 HP), Cloak of Protection (+1 HP), and an undying thirst for blood. Has a total of 13 hit points between base, armour and items.